duàn
noun #29,591

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 satin (a type of smooth, lustrous fabric)

Examples

Tā de hūnshā yòng shàngděng de duàn zhìchéng, guānghuá huálì.
Her wedding dress was made from high-quality satin — smooth and magnificent.
Zhè jiàn qípáo cǎiyòng le hóngsè duàn miànliào.
This qipao is made from red satin fabric.

Tips

memory
The character has the silk radical on the left — a clue that it refers to a type of silk or silk-like woven fabric.

Components

radical
silk (radical form of 糸)
Left-side silk radical, the simplified three-stroke form of (a twist of silken threads). The indexing radical — is satin, a tightly woven lustrous silk. Same fabric/thread family: silk fabric, velvet, embroidery, rope, to weave. Recognising immediately flags any character as textile-related.
phonetic
duàn
section; stretch
Right side supplies the sound exactly: duàn → duàn, identical pinyin and tone. originally pictured a hand wielding a hammer on stone — to forge, cut into pieces — surviving in 'segment / paragraph.' The 'measured length' nuance carries into : bolts of satin cut into trade-sized sections. Same phonetic: to forge, linden.

Stroke Order

duàn